During the holidays, I wanted a few branches to accent my Christmas greenery. After asking around and searching for cut branches around my neighborhood I came up empty-handed, and had pretty much forgotten about it as the holidays came and went. Then one evening in January, I was walking Henry (our mini-schnauzer) and stumbled across the biggest, most beautiful magnolia branch I had ever seen curbside! I tried to drag it home, but it was way too huge. My sweet husband had to go after it and haul it in the bed of his truck. It was big!

I got to work on it before the leaves dried out and I’m styling it a few ways give you some ideas in case you get your hands on a branch or two. Also, the faux branches you can find in most home decor shops are a great alternative and often look very believable.

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Jamie

Long and Lean

In my bathroom, I kept the branches long and went with a narrow vase (water carafe) because of the limited counter space. I love the way it looks and adds so much warmth to my bathroom!

Short and Squatty (is that a word?)

I used a short, narrow oval vase for this look. It would be perfect for a long table or bar area. Somewhere that needs to be filled, but doesn’t need too much height.

In a Pot

I absolutely love how this turned out! I’ve had this wide vase in it and arranged them to look full and overflowing.

Farmhouse Windowsill

I hadn’t planned to create this look, but when I had a few small leaf clusters left, I played around with a bottle set I hadn’t used in a while. I’m in love with the warmth it adds to my kitchen window! I found this little narrow basket of bottles at Home Goods last year and almost didn’t get it. I definitely recommend it now!

Leaf Place Cards

As I arranged the branches, I lost a few leaves along the way. Don’t worry I came up with a plan, you know I hate to waste! I’ll save the leaves, let them dry out and use them to create place cards next time we host a dinner at the house. I was inspired by this photo from The Lettering Studio. For this look, I’ll use a metallic paint pen.

The Grand Finale

This is the biggest arrangement I’ve ever made, ever! If you follow my Instagram stories, you know how heavy this thing is! It’s a very large a-symmetrical arrangement that would be perfect on the floor, on a very large table (with tall ceilings) or as an outdoor patio accent. I left the branches long and organic looking. The vase I used is a very large olive oil jar reproduction. I found it at Home Goods.

Tip: Use strong kitchen shears or tin snips to cut into the branch at its base. This increases water absorption and helps the branches stay fresh longer!

Jamie

I hope you got some inspiration from my styling tips and enjoyed this post. Comment below if you have any questions!

Thanks for stopping by, Jamie xo

In the South, we start the Mardi Gras season after Epiphany so Valentine’s Day often gets a little lost among the king cakes and craw fish boils, however, at our house, we love to celebrate the day of love with our 3 kids (Clark 8, Penelope 4, Daisy 1). They absolutely adore the idea of any “candy holiday”, plus we use it as a chance to talk with them about God’s love and St. Valentine’s incredible life and legacy. We use this video to help with that!

There are literally hundreds of thousands of over-the-top V-Day ideas out there, but I chose things I would actually do and not just admire from my Pinterest board! These are doable, practical, family-friendly ideas I think you’ll love. Click the link above the picture to visit the original source and get all the details!

Pin #1 // Valentine’s Day Branch Decor

DIY// white ceramic pitcher/vase, double-sided Valentine scrapbook paper, heart paper punch, baker’s twine, birds on floral clips, matte white spray paint, branch from your yard

Pin #2 // Valentine’s Day Snack Board

Click here and scroll to the bottom to shop my favorite boards!

Pin #3 // Valentine’s Day Mason Jar Decor

DIY// mason jars, white doilies, baker’s twine , red card stock

Pin #4 // Valentine’s Day Party Balloons

DIY// white balloons, white string, red lipstick

Pin #5 // Valentine’s Day Boxwood Wreath

DIY// boxwood wreath, foam heart picks

Pin #6 // Location Memory Frame

DIY// white card stock, large heart punch, vintage stamp alphabet, maps of your memories, frame of your choice (Make a custom order from Etsy merchant here)

Pin #7 // Edible V-Day Tic-Tac-Toe Game

DIY// graham crackers, conversation heart candies, pink candy melts, white candy melts

Pin #8 // Cupid Floats

DIY// vanilla ice-cream, strawberry soda, red + white reusable straws, mason jars

Pin #9 // Valentine’s Day “I Spy” Game

Visit this precious blog for the free printable plus more!

Pin #10 // Surprise Love Note Heart

DIY// pink Post-It notes

Those are my top 10 “pins” for Valentine’s Day. Hopefully you found some inspiration and did some shopping. Be on the lookout for another Valentine blog post with a few Bloom freebies!

Thanks for stopping by, Jamie xo